Berroco Montserrat Cardigan Knitting Pattern

Berroco Montserrat Cardigan

What is Being Made

The Berroco Montserrat is an intermediate-level knitted cardigan designed by Amy Christoffers from Book #416. This garment is available in nine sizes ranging from 36" to 68" bust measurement, with finished lengths between 25" and 28" depending on size. The cardigan is shown in size 44" and features a classic construction with positive ease of 4–8" for comfortable wearing.

Techniques Used

The Montserrat cardigan employs several key knitting techniques characteristic of structured garment construction:

• Bottom-up construction: The body is worked from the cast-on edge upward, beginning with a ribbed or garter stitch edge before transitioning to the main stitch pattern.
• Worked flat: The cardigan is knitted flat on circular needles in rows rather than in the round, allowing for traditional shaping and seaming.
• One-piece body: The front and back are initially worked as a single continuous piece to the underarm, then divided for separate front and back sections.
• Seamed construction: Individual sections are sewn together using a tapestry needle, with specific attention to underarm seaming where approximately 9–12" yarn tails are left for joining.
• Short-row shaping: Shoulders are shaped using short rows, a technique that creates gradual increases or decreases without adding or binding off stitches, resulting in smooth shoulder lines.
• Wrap and turn method: The pattern includes wraps that are picked up during subsequent rows, a standard short-row technique for eliminating holes at turning points.

Stitches Used

The Montserrat cardigan features a combination of fundamental knitting stitches:

• Garter stitch: Used for the edge stitches (4 stitches at each end) to create a finished, stable border and prevent curling at the cardigan edges.
• Reverse stockinette stitch: The primary stitch for the body, creating a textured fabric with the purl bumps facing outward. This stitch is worked over the central stitches between the garter stitch edges.
• Knit stitch: Used for the initial cast-on rows and as part of the garter stitch edging.

Materials and Gauge

The Montserrat cardigan is designed to be knitted with Berroco Liana yarn, a worsted-weight option available in 50-gram hanks. Depending on size, the project requires between 6 and 13 hanks of yarn; the sample shown in size 44" uses 8 hanks in colorway #8274 Honeysuckle.

The pattern calls for 36" circular needles in sizes 3 (3.25 mm) and 5 (3.75 mm), or whatever size is necessary to obtain the specified gauge. The smaller needles are used for the initial ribbed or garter stitch edge, while the larger needles accommodate the main body. Additional notions include a spare needle for the three-needle bind-off technique, a tapestry needle for seaming, and waste yarn for holding stitches during construction.

The target gauge is 24 stitches and 30 rows over 4 inches in Reverse Stockinette Stitch using the larger needles. Achieving accurate gauge is emphasized as essential for obtaining correct finished measurements, and knitters are advised to swatch and measure carefully before beginning the project.